The World is Full of Monsters
by Salty as the Sea
Summary: The story is in the perspective of Rowan. A 19 year old that is on the farm when the group arrives. It's about her trying to survive and learning to trust the people around you. I apologize, I'm horrible at summaries. I'm also new here so please excuse the fact that the appearance of my chapters may look bad, I have no idea how to use this website.
1. Chapter 1

I am sitting in the living room when I hear Maggie yell for her father. I walk outside with everyone. "Was he bit?" Hershel asks.

"Shot," the stranger says. "By your man." He is walking up to the house with a boy in his arms. He seems exhausted. I can tell he's been carrying the boy for a while since he's struggling to keep him in his arms.

"Otis?" Patricia says.

"He said find Hershel," he says. "Is that you?"

"Get inside," Hershel says. They start rushing to the house.

"Help me!" he begs. "Help my boy!" He sounds like he's about to sob. Hershel tells him to come inside and all of us follow.

"Patricia, I need my full kit," he says. "Maggie, painkillers, coagulates- grab everything. Clean towels, sheets alcohol in here." I run off to go get everything we need with the others.

I walk in with some towels and sheets with Beth. They have laid the boy on the bed and his father seems to be in shock. He's processing everything slowly. "Fold it," Hershel says. "Make a pad." We're all rushing to get everything ready. "Put pressure on the wound." I look up to see the man in a sheriff's uniform over his son, pressing a pillow case to his wound. Hershel checks to see if the kid is alive. "I've got a heartbeat. It's faint."

"I've got it, step back," Patricia says.

"Maggie, I.V."

"We need some space," she says.

"Your name?" he asks.

"Rick," the sheriff says.

"Rick?" he says. The guy keeps stuttering. I feel bad for the guy. His son has just been shot and there aren't any hospitals.

"I'm- I'm Rick."

"Rick, we're going to do everything we can, okay?" Hershel says. "You need to give us some room. Now."

I walk into the living room knowing I won't be of use. I look outside to see Otis, Rick, and another man. They walk in and into the room, I follow shortly after.

"You know his blood type?"

"A positive," Rick says, "same as mine." Hershel looks at him.

"That's fortunate," he says. "Don't wander far, I'm gonna' need you." He then looks at Otis. "What happened?"

"I was tracking a buck," Otis says. "Bullet went through it, went clean through." He also appears to be in shock

"The deer slowed the bullet down," Hershel says looking at the wound, " which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces." Otis starts moving towards Patricia. "If I can get the bullet fragments out… I'm counting six."

Otis starts saying to Patricia that he never saw the kid until he was already on the ground. Otis must feel horrible about this. I know I would. It was an accident though. He can't be blamed for it.

"Lori doesn't know," Rick says.

"No…" his friend says. I raise an eyebrow in confusion. Rick looks like he's about to cry.

"My wife doesn't know…" he says. His friends starts whispering to him.

I walk in as soon as Maggie opens the door. I see them holding down the kid while he squirms and cries. "He needs blood," Maggie says.

"You, hold him down!" Hershel says. Rick's friend rushes over to hold down the kid. I watch, feeling helpless as the kid cries and groans. I want to help but there is nothing I can do. Hershel is trying to get a bullet fragment out while Rick keeps on looking at his son.

The kid screams and that's when Rick can't take it. "Stop!" he screams. "You're killing him!"

"Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel says.

"He needs blood," I hear Patricia say.

"Do it now!" the other guy shouts. Patricia sticks the needle in Rick and takes some blood. I no longer hear crying so I look over. The stranger seems worried.

"Wait," the guy says. "Wait. Hey."

"He just passed out," Hershel says. I watch as Hershel pulls a bullet fragment out of the boy. "One down…" He puts the fragment down. "...five to go." I run my hand through my hair.

I walk into the room just as Hershel walks out with Patricia following him. "He's out of danger for the moment," Hershel says, "but I need to remove those remaining fragments." I watch as Rick and the stranger are on either side of him. Maggie and Otis are standing and listening.

"How?" Rick asks. "You saw how he was."

"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others."

"Oh man…" the stranger says quietly.

"There's more."

"Tell me," Rick says.

"His belly's distended, his pressure's dropping, which means there's internal bleeding," Hershel tells him. "A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels." I have to open him up, find the bleeder, and stitch it." I bite my lip. "And he can't move while I'm in there- I mean, at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes." Rick stays silent, not looking at Hershel. "To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own, same bad results."

"What'll it take?"

"You need a respirator," Otis says. "What else?"

"The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures," Hershel says.

"If you had all that you could save him?" Rick asks.

"If I had all that, I could try."

"Nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago," Otis says. Hershel looks at him. "The high school."

"That's what I was thinking," Hershel says. He looks back at Rick. "They set up a FEMA shelter there. They would have everything we need."

"Place was overrun last time I saw it," Otis tells them. "You couldn't get near it. Maybe it's better now."

"I said, leave the rest to me," Rick's friend says. "Is it too late to take that back?" He sort of smiles but Rick looks at him with a serious expression.

"I hate you going alone," he says.

"Come on. Doc, why don't you do me a list and draw me a map?"

"You won't need a map," Otis says. "I'll take you there. Ain't but five miles."

"Otis, no," Patricia says.

"Honey, we don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible. I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes this on alone."

"I could go," I offer. "I know the way."

"Not you," Hershel says. "You need to stay here." I roll my eyes. All I want to do his help. The kid is crying, we can't be picky on who goes. Patricia gives Otis a worried look.

"I'll be all right," Otis says.

"Are you sure about this?" the stranger asks.

"Do you even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?"

"Come to think, no."

"I've been a volunteer E.M.T. I do," Otis tells him. I run my hand through my hair in frustration. I really want to go but of course Hershel won't let me. "We can talk about this till next Sunday or we could just go do it real quick."

"I'll take real quick."

"I should thank you," Rick says.

"Wait till that boy of yours is up and around. Then we'll talk. I'll gather some things."

Maggie walks up to Rick. "Where is she, your wife?" she asks. I sigh and walk outside then sit on the railing of the porch.

Rick, his friend, Patricia, and Otis walk outside. Hershel quickly follows them. I watch as they put their supplies in the truck. Otis and Patricia hug while Rick and his friend are talking. They get in the truck and I walk up to Rick.

"Your friend, what's his name?" I ask.

"Shane," he says. I nod.

"Shane better bring Otis back safe," I say. I care more about Otis' safety than Shane's. I actually know Otis, Shane is just a stranger. "Well, I'll be inside if you need me."

"Wait, what's your name?" he asks.

"I'm Rowan," I tell him.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table while Hershel is holding a glass of orange juice. Rick and Lori walk in and he immediately hands Rick the glass. Rick thanks him and starts drinking then stops shortly after. Hershel urges him to continue and Rick does.

"Okay, so I understand, when Shane returns with this other man-" Lori says.

"Otis," Hershel tells her.

"Otis. The idiot who shot my son."

"Ma'am, it was an accident," Hershel says.

"I'll take that under advisement later," she says. "For now he's the idiot who shot our son."

"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right," Rick says. I lean back and watch them.

"Okay, as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?"

"I'll certainly do my best."

"Okay," Lori says. "You've done this procedure before?"

"Well, yes, in a sense," Hershel says.

"In a sense?"

"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon," Rick says. I understand that she's under a lot of stress since her son was shot but can't she be reasonable? It's the apocalypse. At least she has somebody who can perform this surgery.

"No, I understand that," she says. "But I mean you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, of course. A vet."

"A veteran?" she says. "A combat medic?"

"A veterinarian," Hershel tells her. She looks extremely worried. Her and Rick look at each other.

"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows? Pigs?"

"Pigs and humans are extremely similar in human anatomy…" I mumble. I hear Rick say something but I can't understand him. He pulls the chair out and falls into it. Lori keeps him from falling over.

"Completely in over your head, aren't you?" Lori questions.

"Ma'am, aren't we all?" Hershel asks. I stand up and walk out of the kitchen. It's their business, not mine. I should have left earlier.

She didn't say or do much in this chapter but I promise that she becomes interacts more in the future. She is sort of a wallflower in the beginning but she gets better. If you have any advice on how to improve my writing that would be great. The reason I'm finally starting to post my stories is because I want to become better at writing and in order to do that I need people to read them and tell be what could be worked on. So, any review would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

-Salt


	2. Chapter 2

I am lying on the couch. I look up when I hear the door open. Two men walk in with Maggie. I stand up and walk over to them. "And who are you two?" I ask.

"Uh… I'm Glenn," one of them says. I look at the other man.

"T-Dog," he says. I nod. There is probably going to be a fairly large group of them. Who knows how that'll turn out.

"Well, I'm Rowan," I say. I walk back to the couch.

I walk into the kitchen to see Patricia stitching up T-Dog's arm. "You got here right in time," Patricia tells him. "This couldn't go untreated much longer." I stand next to Glenn. "Merle Dixon. Is that the friend that gave you the antibiotics?"

"No, ma'am," Glenn says. "Merle is no longer with us. Daryl gave us those- his brother."

"Not sure I'd call him a friend," T-Dog says. He is in a lot of pain but he's holding himself together. Personally, I couldn't get stitches without being numb. It'd be too painful.

"He is today," she says. "This doxycycline might have just saved your life. You know what Merle was taking it for?"

"The clap," Glenn says. I notice him and Maggie look at each other. "Um, venereal disease. That's what Daryl said." I try not to smile at how uncomfortable he got. It was obvious that he had regret choosing those words immediately.

"I'd say Merle Dixon's clap was the best thing to ever happen to you."

"I'm really trying not to think about that." T-Dog says. I see Glenn walk away. Only moments later does Maggie follow. I sit down where Maggie had been.

After a little bit I decide to go check up on the kid. I walk in to see Rick by Carl's bed with Lori behind him. Hershel is standing on the opposite side of the bed.

"And with the swelling in his abdomen we can't wait any longer," Hershel tells them, "or he's just going to slip away." Lori and Rick both stand up. "Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this because I think your boy is out of time. You have to make a choice." I lean against a wall, staying quiet.

"A choice?" Lori says.

"A choice," Rick says looking at his wife. "You have to tell me what it is." She cups his cheek.

"We do it," she says. They embrace each other for a moment.

"Okay, get the corner of that bed," Hershel says after Patricia walks in. "Let's get the sheets down. Get the I.V. bag on the sheet. On three. One, two three." We all pick up the sheet with Carl on it. We put him on the metal rolling cart. They put the tools on the cart beside Carl and turn on a lamp. "Rick, Lori, you may want to step out." Suddenly we hear a car. Rick and Lori walk to a window. "You stay here with him."

Hershel, Lori, Rick, and I leave the room to head to the truck. When we exit the house Glenn, Maggie and T-Dog join us.

"Carl?" Shane says.

"There's still a chance," Rick tells him.

"Otis?" Hershel questions. Shane mumbles something but I can't understand it. It hurts knowing we lost Otis. He was a nice guy, he didn't deserve to die. I definitely don't trust him now. "We tell Patricia nothing. Not till after. I need her." He walks back into the house and I follow him.

I am sitting in the living room when Hershel walks back inside the house. Him and Rick are walking to the kitchen. I see Patricia standing there. I pull my knees up to my chest and close my eyes, trying to ignore the sounds of Patricia sobbing.

I met Otis when I was 12. Everytime I visit this farm he was the first person I wanted to see. Him and I were always really close. He was like an uncle to me. Last time I saw him I was eighteen. Visiting the east coast with my brother. Of course, we stopped by here. Now I'm nineteen and everything is different. We weren't super close. I wasn't close to any of them but they welcomed me like family. It's going to be completely different without him here.

I stand up from the couch and walk outside to a group of people. I sit on the railing of the porch.

"How is he?" an older man asks.

"He'll pull through," Lori tells him. "Thanks to Hershel and his people." I let out a sigh of relief. The kid got lucky.

"And Shane," Rick adds. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him." I look over and see Shane in overalls that are way too big for him and his head is shaved. Why did he shave his head? There was no reason to.

Their group speaks to each other while I watch. There's a lot of them, more than I expected. None of them seem to be a threat but that is too many people. Big groups cause trouble and we don't need that. Hell, we don't even know these people.

Beth adds a rock while we're all gathered around. "Blessed be God, father of our lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace. Shanke, will you speak for Otis?"

"I'm not very good at it," he says. "I'm sorry." The guy was with him when he died. He should say something, even something small.

"You were the last one with him," Patricia says. "You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning." The poor woman is heartbroken. All she wants to know his death did some good. She loved him so much.

"We were about done," Shane says. "Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy'. See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack and shoved me ahead. 'Run,' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear, I'll cover you.' And when I looked back…" Him and Patricia make eye contact. I start messing with my dog tags. It has been a nervous habit of mine for the past couple weeks. Shane walks up to the pile and grabs a rock from the wheelbarrow. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death had meaning, it was his." Shane adds the rock to the pile.

"How long has this girl been missing?" Hershel asks. We're talking about how a little girl named Sophia is lost in the woods. Apparently she never came back to the highway.

"This'll be day three," Rick tells him. Maggie walks up to the truck and places down a map.

"County survey map," Maggie says. "Shows terrain and elevations."

"This is perfect," Rick says. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

"Not you, not today," Hershel says. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." He then looks at Shane. "And your ankle. Push it now and you'll be laid up a month. No good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me," a man named Daryl says. "I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there."

"I could still be useful," Shane says. "Drive up the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."

"All right, tomorrow then," Rick says. "We'll start doing this right."

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives," Shane says. "They need the gun training we've been promising them."

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property," Hershel says. "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here…" Shane says. It's fair that he is worried about that. These days, you need a gun with you at all times. At least they'll have knives still.

"We're guests here," Rick tells Hershel. "This is your property and we _will_ respect that." He puts his gun on the hood of the truck, Shane does the same thing. "First things first: set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to," Shane says. "If we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."

"You do what has to be done," Rick tells him.

"And her mother?" Maggie asks. "What do you tell her?"

"The truth," Andrea says. I notice Maggie and her father give each other this look.

"I'll gather and carry the weapons," Shane says. "Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."

"Our people would feel safer," Rick explains. "Less inclined to carry a gun." Hershel nods his head. "Thank you."

"That stuff you brought," I say. "Got more antibiotics, bandages, anything like that?"

"Just what you've seen," Andrea says. Everyone starts walking away.

"We're running short already," Maggie says. "I should make a run into town."

"Not the place Shane went?" Rick says.

"No, there's a pharmacy just a mile down the road," she says. "I've done it before."

"See our man there, in the baseball cap?"

We all look at Glenn. He's helping Lori set up a tent. "That's Glenn," Rick says, "our go-to-town expert. I'd ask him along just to be cautious." With Hershel's approval Maggie walks off.

By the time I get back from walking around the farm it's already getting dark out. I walk inside the house. I decide to go into the room Carl is in to check up on him. I see Carl wearing Rick's hat while his dad is sitting beside him.

"Carl, this is Rowan," Rick says. I walk over and crouch down beside him.

"I like your hat," I say. He smiles at me. "I'd love to borrow it sometime." He stays silent but is still smiling. "Well, I'll let you get some

sleep. Goodnight, Carl."

I know it isn't that good but I'm learning to be a better writer.

-Salt


	3. Chapter 3

I am standing with everyone that plans on looking for Sophia when Jimmy says Hershel said it's okay if he helps. "Jimmy, I need to speak to you," I say. We both walk far enough so they can't hear us. "There is no way Hershel said it was okay."

"Then what are you doing out here?" he questions.

"I am not his child," I say sternly.

"I'm not either!"

"Jimmy, he can prevent you from helping unlike me," I tell him. "He can have an opinion about whether I should help or not but he cannot stop me.

"Please don't mention it," Jimmy begs. "I really want to help, Rowan."

"...Fine," I say. "But when he finds out, I had nothing to do with it." He nods. We walk back to the others.

We're only standing around for a couple seconds when Jimmy reaches for a rifle. "Hey, hey," Rick says as he picks up the gun. "Ever fire on before?" I'd be worried too. People who have never used a gun shouldn't try, especially if there is a chance that they get scared and fire."

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one," Jimmy says.

"Yeah, and people in Hell want slurpees," Daryl says. He walks off. I see Shane get out of the truck.

"Why don't you come train tomorrow?" he asks. "If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor."

"For now he can come with us," Andrea says.

"He's yours to babysit then," Shane says. Rick starts telling us where our grids will be.

"Rowan, were you ever taught how to shoot a gun?" Rick asks.

"My father taught me," I say. "So yes."

"How long have you been shooting guns?" Shane questions.

"Since I was thirteen," I tell him.

"Well, how about you come with us?" Rick says.

"I have a horse," I say. "I can go off on my own."

"I don't need to risk you getting injured," he says. "Hershel wouldn't be very happy. Just come with us." I sigh but still agree.

Rick, Shane, and I are walking in silence. "You remember the name of that waitress at the Dairy Queen when we were in high school?" Rick asks Shane. "I know you, Shane, well enough to know that there is only one sure-fire way of engaging you in a conversation, and that is to start asking you about girls you did in high school. I don't want to, but I'm willing to do it if that's what it takes." Just like how my friends would talk. Old memories, nostalgia. They loved to mention their old flings and how stupid they were.

"Maryanne," Shane says. "I told you about her?"

"In excruciating detail," Rick says. I grin. This conversation is going to be very interesting.

"Excruciating, my ass. You used to live for those details back in the day."

"I was impressionable," Rick says. Shane laughs while I just smile. Their conversations are entertaining. It's much better than walking in silence. "And I may have been living vicariously through you."

"Why wouldn't you, with my impressive list of accomplishments? I was an artist in his prime. A protege."

"You mean prodigy."

"Maybe," Shane says. "Is prodigy what you call a young high school stud that bangs thirty year olds on the regular?"

"What thirty year old were you banging in high school?"

"The P.E. teacher."

"Mr. Daniels?" Rick says. I grin. I guess I'm still a child at heart since I did find that funny. I don't want to interrupt their conversation so I just stay silent.

"Mrs. Kelly."

"The girls volleyball coach? Wasn't she married?"

"C'mon," Shane says.

"You know what I just remembered?" Rick says. "Why I never ask you about this stuff."

"Why don't we talk about your high school love life then, huh?"

"Well, that's a short conversation. It may already be over."

"That right?" Shane says. "There was Holly, right? Nope that was me too." They laugh. "Then there was Sheila. That's the one you lied to me about."

"I never lied about Sheila," Rick says. "I just got mixed up about what the bases meant."

"Just so you know, a home run, that usually means a sexual act," Shane tell him. He starts hitting his gun while making noises. "That's intercourse."

"Yeah, I realize that now," Rick says

"I think what you did was more like a ground rule double or something," Shane tells him. I start laughing.

"How awkward is this conversation for you?" Rick asks.

"I actually find it quite enjoyable," I say. "Good to know my love life was as bad as somebodies." I see Rick grin but it goes quiet for a couple moments.

"Shouldn't be talking about this stuff," Shane says. "That life, it's gone and everyone in it. Sheila. Maryanne. Mrs. Kelly. It's like we're old folk. All the people in our stories are all dead."

"We can't just forget them," Rick says.

"The hell we can't. It's hard enough accepting what's happened without digging up the past. I'll tell you what it is. It's nostalgia. It's like a drug. Keeps you from seeing things the way they are. That's a danger. You got people depending on you."

"You think I don't know that?" Rick questions. I stay silent, watching them. Getting in the middle of their argument is probably the last thing I want to do.

"I don't know. What are we doing? You got every able body at your disposal out scourging these woods for a little girl we both know is likely dead."

"You think we should abandon the search?"

"It's not my call, is it?"

"I'm asking," Rick says. "I'm asking."

"Survival, Rick. It means making hard decisions. But you've got this knack. You spread us thinner and thinner. I'm trying to save lives here and you're out saving cats from trees."

"Is that what you think Sophia is, a cat in a tree?" Rick asks.

"Don't do that man," Shane says. "Don't twist my words. How many times we get called up to look for a missing child, man? You got 72 hours. 72 hours, and after that you're looking for a body. And that was before. I mean you honestly think we're just gonna find Sophia alive?" I am standing about a couple feet away from them. They'll settle this on their own. I don't need to get involved.

"Are you that sure we won't?"

"We being completely honest?"

"I'm counting on you to be."

"It's math, man. Love or not, Sophia, she only matters to the degree in which she don't drag the rest of us down."

Rick must look upset because I notice Shane get irritated. "I thought you wanted honest," he says. He hits a branch out of frustration. I can tell Rick is extremely unhappy also. "If we'd just moved on, man, we'd be halfway to Fort Benning right now and Carl wouldn't have gotten shot. You said so yourself. But we're out here, we're risking lives. Your own son almost died. Otis, he paid that bill. What the hell are we still doing this for?" Rick walks up to him.

"I had her in my hand, Shane," Rick says. "She looked in my eyes and trusted me. I failed her. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be out here. I think she's still alive and I'm not- I'm not gonna write her off." Shane huffs.

"It's blue," he says. "It's Andrea and T-Dog. Looks like we wandered into their grid." Shane walks off but I stay still until Rick starts walking.

Shane is ahead of us. Rick and I are walking beside each other. "Hey, if it helps at all," I say, "I think you're doing the right thing. If I was her parent, I'd want to know what happened to her… Even if I assumed the worst." Rick stays silent so I don't try to start a conversation.

I am ahead of the two of them, wanting to avoid the tension as we're back near their camp site. The entire way back was awkward. I just stayed away from them. I didn't want to get involved in that.

I sprint to the RV with everyone else after hearing a gunshot. I see Andrea on top of the RV with the rifle. "What on earth's going on out here?" Hershel shouts.

"Some dumbass probably shot something…" I mumble. Hershel doesn't hear me but it's probably for the best.

I see Shane and Rick practically carrying Daryl back to the house. Andrea shot him. This group shouldn't have survived this long. They are constantly getting injured.

I am in the room with Daryl, Rick, Shane, and Hershel. "I found it washed up on the creek bed right there," Daryl says. "She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half," Rick says.

"Yeah, you're welcome," he says. I smirk.

"How's he looking?" Rick asks.

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly," Hershel says. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"Yeah, the one who almost killed me?" Daryl says. "If it's smart, it left the country."

"We call that one Nelly, as in Nervous Nelly," I explain.

"I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask," Hershel says. "It's a wonder you people have survived this long."

Rick, Shane, and I walk out. Rick immediately walks up to Lori while I leave them alone. I walk to the living room and sit on the couch. Hershel isn't wrong. How has that group survived this long?

We're all sitting at multiple tables. I'm sort of behind two people since there wasn't enough room. It's a silent dinner until Glenn asks, "Does anybody know how to play guitar? Dale found a cool one. Somebody's got to know how to play." It's silent for a second.

"Otis did," Patricia says.

"Yes, and he was very good too," Hershel tells her. It's back to a painfully silent meal. Honestly, the meal probably wasn't that good of an idea. It's just awkward and silent.

I am lying on the couch when I see Maggie rush out of the house. "What's going on?" I ask. She ignores me. "Weird…" I curl up against the couch, trying to sleep.


End file.
